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Shallow Waters In The Sunlight Are Only Option During Cold Snap

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 4, 2009

The fishing forecast for today is dominated by the weather forecast, which predicts a strong cold front moving into our area today.

With winds out of the north northwest, Canadian air makes the trip all the way south to shut down - or at the very least slow down - Florida freshwater fishing.

If you do decide to brave the sub-freezing temperatures that will be arriving today, the only place you'll likely find a feeding fish is very shallow water where there's lots of sunlight. Even then, be prepared to have to "wait it out" before the fish makes up its mind if it has enough energy to eat and digest a meal.

As I said in last Sunday's article, normally this would be the week of the early-morning bite, however because of the weather conditions dropping water temperatures into the low fifties during the early morning hours of safe-light, the normally declining late-afternoon bite will in fact, increase in intensity and duration due to the warmest water temperatures the day has to offer.

The problem with fishing in the late afternoons is the wind conditions are unfavorable most of the time. Especially today with a forecast of 15-25 mph north winds on the open water, anglers will have to cope with two-foot swells or greater, or launch at a north-end ramp and stay within the protective windbreak of a north shoreline tree-belt.

The late-afternoon bite starts at 5:30 p.m. and ends at 9 p.m. with a peak period happening at 7 .pm. The north shorelines will provide the warmest water temperatures and also the calmest conditions.

The early-morning bite starts at 6:30 a.m. and ends at 8:30 a.m. with a peak period occurring at 7 a.m. Areas most productive will likely be along northwest shorelines where the sunlight starts warming the waters first and the winds have not adversely affected the shallow water column.

Thursday brings the beginning of a return to normal winter Florida fishing, but don't expect the fishing results to improve all that much.

This won't happen until Friday afternoon or evening and by Saturday expect an excellent early-morning bite from 8 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., which will reach a rating of eight on the scale of 1-10. Nighttime anglers' best time is from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. as fish sense the warming trend and return to their normal nighttime feeding patterns.

Fishing Facts

It's a fact that Florida's freshwater fish are not used to below-freezing temperatures which drop water temperatures into the upper 40s and lower 50s.

The "genetic trigger" kicks into gear which tells the fish to start to enter the hibernation state, which occurs in degrees, literally. At the first-sign of an approaching cold-front, all fish feed heavily and move into shallows to suspend all activity within a protective cover.

As the water temperatures rapidly drop they shut down as their metabolisms slow down dramatically. Food digestion, as a result, slows way down, energy drops to its lowest level, and the fish will not respond to anything. In this state, it waits for temperatures to rise back into the lower to middle 50s when their metabolisms begin to digest and provide energy.

Fishing Fiction

"Florida fish don't eat in water temperatures of 48 degrees or less."

This is not true even though they are in a partial state of hibernation. If a fish needs food to survive during lower-than-normal temperatures, it will migrate very slowly into the warmest temperatures it can locate and wait in ambush for food to arrive.

In Florida that would be along the northwestern shorelines in the morning and the northeastern shorelines in the afternoons, where the warmest water temperatures are, respectively (Note: On islands, these areas translate to southwest, and southeast, respectively).

Fishing Flash

On the weekend of Jan. 24 to 25 Outback USA's owner Robert Sherry, an FLW Series & Tour member, competed and finished 13th out of 154 participants in the Walmart FLW Series Tournament on Lake Okeechobee which launched out of Clewiston. His three day weight was 46.15 pounds 15 bass, which paid $12,500.

Gary Niemi of Lake Placid also competed and finished 22{+n}{+d} after the first three days. He brought to the scales a total of 14 bass weighing 43.07 lbs, which paid $11,500.

Local Lake Okeechobee FLW anglers took six out of the top-10 spots in the five day event, in which all competitors compete for three days in order to qualify for the top ten spots and compete on days four and five. For a complete run-down visit their Web site at flwserieseast.flwoutdoors.com

Your Lake Manager's Contact Information:

Clell Ford, Highlands County Lakes Management Specialist - 4434 George Blvd, Sebring, Florida 33875. Phone: 863-402-6545, Email: Cford@hcbcc.org

Vicki Pontius, Highlands County Parks and Recreation Director - 4344 George Blvd. Sebring, Florida 33875. Phone: 863-402-6812, Email: VPONTIUS@hcbcc.org

Steven Gornak, Biological Scientist IV, Aquatic Habitat Restoration and Enhancement Sub-Section, Division of Habitat and Species Conservation - 3991 SE 27th Court, Okeechobee, FL 34974. Phone: 863-462-5190 (SunCom 761-5190), Fax: 863-462-5194 (SunCom 761-5194), Mobile: 863-697-6256, Email: steven.gornak@myfwc.com

The Outback USA Crappie Tournament is open to the public and will be held monthly.

The second event will be Feb. 20 and 21. Entry fee is $5 and anglers can fish any lake of their choice and weigh-in on any day at Outback USA at 14021 US-27 South.

Application can be picked up at Outback USA which is half way between South Sebring and Lake Placid. Store hours are from 6 a.m. - 6 p.m. every day.

The Monday Morning Lake Jackson Black Bass Fishing Tournament is open to the public and launches every Monday morning at 8 a.m. with weigh-in at 1 p.m. Entry fee is $10 per boat with a "winner-take-all" payout. One person or two per boat, three legal (more than 14 inches) bass per boat, and one bass over 22 inches per angler. For information, call Paul Tardiff at 863-385-8007 (home) or 863-273-4062 (cell).

The Wednesday Morning Black Bass Fishing Tournament is open to the public. Next event is today on Lake June. Time: 7:30 a.m. to noon. Pay at ramp - entry fee is $30 per boat. One person may fish alone if you do not have a partner. For information, contact Paul Tardiff at 863-385-8007 (home) or 863-273-4062 (cell), email bassbutchie60@aol.com or call Dwight Ameling at -863-471-3305.

Dave Douglass is a bass-fishing guide and CEO of S.O.S.-Florida Lakes, Inc. He can be reached at 863-381-8474, HighlandsBassAngler.com, or e-mail him at davidpdouglass@hotmail.com.

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